Governor Scott says the Act 73 School Redistricting Task Force “failed” because it refused to deliver a mandatory consolidation map that would force Vermont into a handful of mega-districts. Respectfully, I disagree with this assessment.

PRESS RELEASE:

Campaign for Vermont Publishes Report on Savings Provided by Shared Education Services

Non-profit seeking to grow VT’s middle class finds education savings while expanding services for students.

MONTPELIER, VERMONT - This week, Campaign for Vermont Prosperity (CFV) published a report titled "Finding Savings Through Shared Services in Vermont Schools." The report focuses on leveraging Education Service Agencies (ESAs) to improve the efficiency of services being provided to students. A policy recommendation the organization put out in March recommended moving to this model, but the latest report put a number on the cost-savings potential. The Act 73 Task Force voted on Monday to advance a similar ESA model as their recommendation to the Legislature.

Education Agency Admits A Years-Long Failure As Student Performance Nosedives

Vermont elementary school students’ reading scores have fallen below the national average and show no sign of trending back upward. Mississippi on the other hand has ascended to a level above the national average after many years of serious under-performance.

We (Ben and I) attended an event last week hosted by Let's Build Homes. The room was full of different voices, including banks, local businesses, developers, chambers of commerce, statewide politicians, utility companies, local broadcasters, and nonprofits. It was a coalition of people and organizations that recognized the dire need for housing in our state. In a little under a year, this coalition has already changed the housing landscape in Vermont by passing the historic CHIP bill. But, there is more work to do. Regulatory changes are needed to guarantee predictability for developers and unlock private investment from out of state that is sorely needed in order to truly grow and modernize our housing stock. We also need to find innovative ways to bring down the cost of construction for "affordable" state subsidized housing units. We need to cut the $500 per square foot cost of construction in half. In our 2025 research priorities, we are looking at one way of pursuing that.

Housing is a cornerstone of stability and prosperity in any community, but in Vermont, its importance is amplified by the state's unique demographic, economic, and environmental challenges. With a population that is aging rapidly—projected to see 170K households aged 55+ by 2029—and a persistent shortage of affordable units, housing directly influences the ability of Vermonters to live, work, and thrive. Our state requires an additional 24K to 36K homes by 2029 to meet growing demand, normalize vacancy rates, and accommodate workforce needs, yet only about 2,300 new homes were permitted in 2022, far below the annual target of 5,000 to 7,000. This shortfall exacerbates issues like homelessness, where Vermont ranks second nationally in per capita rates, with over 3,295 individuals counted as unhoused in 2023, including a 200% increase in child homelessness since 2020. Without sufficient housing, basic social structures erode, affecting health outcomes, family stability, and community cohesion. This is particularly true for low-income and BIPOC families.

Every year, Campaign for Vermont sets a research agenda for when the legislature is out of session. These are topics that we want to focus on in the spirit of bringing forward new information and recommendations for our state's policymakers. This work might result in new research papers, new position statements, new legislation, or just furthering our own understanding of an issue.

Dear Members of the Act 73 Task Force,

You have no easy task before you to reconcile all the different perspectives you bring to the table and produce a pathway forward for education reform in Vermont. We were part of the conversations that led to Act 46 and that effort may have just been a foreshadow of this one.

Since 2010, Vermont has consolidated 271 school districts down to 119. During that same timeframe, we have seen spending accelerate and outcomes fall. Today, we are spending 79% above the national average but performing below average when you account for Vermont’s demographics.

What do we know about the group of people that will guide the next phase of education reform?

The working group that Act 73 put in charge of developing a plan for the new education governance system was named a couple short weeks ago. What do we know about them? What solutions will they try to advance? Perhaps more importantly, whose interests will they advocate for?

Vermont’s education system has long grappled with balancing efficiency, equity, and local control. A recent Yale thesis by Grace Miller, titled Evaluating the Impact of School District Mergers in Vermont: Fiscal Reallocation, Equity, and Community Perspectives, provides a comprehensive analysis of the state’s school district merger initiatives from 2010 to 2020. The study examines the fiscal and operational impacts of these mergers, prompted by Vermont’s Act 153 and Act 46, and offers insights into their implications for educational equity, community dynamics, and future consolidation efforts.